Category: Government

Facebook governor

AS SOON as Albay Gov. Joey Salceda wakes up in the morning, he greets his constituents on Facebook (“Good morning, Albay”) and cycles through the towns and component cities with a slew of hashtags promoting the province. After the morning greeting, Salceda shares a “tigsik,” a short poem in Bikol, written by the province’s poet… Continue reading Facebook governor

Despite existence of open source products, many still use pirated software: CICT secretary

THE Philippines still lacks awareness of and support for free and open source software (FOSS), Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) Secretary Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III said yesterday. Chua, in his speech during the opening of the Philippine Open Source Summit at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) early today, said that despite the… Continue reading Despite existence of open source products, many still use pirated software: CICT secretary

Munisipyo Wi-Fi

I spent a day in Argao recently and was pleasantly surprised to find several dependable and free Wi-Fi hotspots. I was surprised because in Cebu City, free Wi-Fi access isn’t as widespread as they say it is in places such as Davao City. Many shops, at least the last time I went warbiking or going… Continue reading Munisipyo Wi-Fi

Read this and weep

Here’s a quiz for you. Look at the photo below (don’t read the caption yet). Which is more expensive? Is it 1.) the street lamp on this road in Mandaue City in Cebu or 2.) the motorcycle and the bag that contains a laptop, digital camera, and various other gadgets of my trade? Here’s a… Continue reading Read this and weep

Open source Valentine

It’s a hot date before the big day. Bayan Muna has scheduled a round table on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 13, at the Rajah Park Hotel function room in Fuente Osmeña to discuss free and open source software. Organizers are still finalizing details but I was told it’s open to anyone interested to discuss free and… Continue reading Open source Valentine

The glass cannot be half-full

Either there is press freedom or not, according to Sun.Stars pooled editorial. The editorial points out the danger of making police the evaluators of media. Why do cops make poor evaluators? They dont know the craft and its nuances. Their mind-set is that of victims, whipped frequently by media for lapses and offenses. The paper… Continue reading The glass cannot be half-full

Bumps on the information superhighway

The Cebu Yearbook 2006 is out. Here’s part of the unedited article I submitted for publication: One municipal government’s website in Visayas is being maintained by its meat inspector. Frederick Amores, Visayas group head of the National Computer Center (NCC) Field Operations Office, could barely contain his laughter as he said this in an interview.… Continue reading Bumps on the information superhighway

Neighboring areas complain against ‘Imperial Cebu’

Cebu, according to Dumaguete City Mayor Agustin Perdices, is “becoming like Imperial Manila.” Perdices and Siquijor Gov. Orlando Fua complained in yesterday’s Regional Development Council meeting that Cebu is cornering most of the projects approved for Central Visayas. Here’s Sun.Star’s story on the issue: DUMAGUETE CITY – Tired of hearing about so many infrastructure projects… Continue reading Neighboring areas complain against ‘Imperial Cebu’

Prove Cebu City is not Murder City

Mayor Tomas Osmea isnt worried by the rash of killings of suspected criminals in Cebu City. “It’s worse for the city’s image if there are many criminals,” he said in a press conference. So the recent killings of “criminals”-of previous convicts-don’t give an impression that Cebu City has many criminals? Mayor Osmea had admitted he… Continue reading Prove Cebu City is not Murder City